Small banks demand full-time office work more than bigger peers

GOLDMAN Sachs Group and JPMorgan Chase have been leading the charge to get employees into the office more often, but it’s their smaller industry peers who are more likely to demand full-time on-site work.

While just 4 per cent of banks with 5,000 or more employees require full-time office attendance, nearly a third of the smallest banks in the cohort demand it, according to a survey of 137 US lenders employing 4.4 million people from Scoop Technologies, which advises firms on flex-work policy.

The policy differences could be influencing where bankers want to work: The share of larger banks’ new employees that are coming from smaller banks has increased to 26.8 per cent this year, up from 22.6 per cent in 2021, according to job-market data tracker Revelio Labs. 

Banks with fewer employees are also more likely to let employees choose if they come into an office at all, while the vast majority of bigger banks use some type of hybrid arrangement, where workers are on-site a few days a week. Of the 66 banks that were added to Scoop’s index over the past year, none of them said that they required full-time office attendance.

The data contrasts with the much-publicised comments from the leaders of big banks like Jamie Dimon, who has said that remote work “doesn’t work”. 

While people quit jobs for many reasons, some of those leaving the small banks might be seeking more flexible work arrangements at bigger firms. More than three out of four recruiters note a positive impact on attracting talent when more flexible hybrid schedules are in place, according to recent data from LinkedIn.

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Office attendance in New York, long the financial capital of the United States, hasn’t budged much beyond 50 per cent of pre-pandemic levels as hybrid plans have become the norm, according to security firm Kastle Systems.

“Having a flex-work policy yields a larger talent pool, more job applicants, and a better employer brand,” the LinkedIn report said. 

The smaller banks that demand full-time office work might do so as they face less competition for talent, according to Scoop co-founder and chief executive officer Rob Sadow. They might also adhere to more traditional workplace norms, he said.  

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Who still works from home?

One small bank that is offering more opportunities to work remotely says that it helps in hiring. 

“We believe there is still a lot of value to being in the office but having a little bit of flexibility allows us to attract people that would otherwise go to larger banks,” said James Nesci, president and chief executive officer of Blue Foundry Bank in New Jersey, with about 170 employees. Those at the senior vice-president level and above are required to be in the office four days a week, while others need to be in three days, Nesci added.  

The 5,000 workers at Frost Bank in Texas, meanwhile, are divided roughly in thirds between branch workers and others who need to be on-site full time, another third who split their time between an office and remote on a set schedule, and a final third who work mostly remotely and come into an office as needed, according to spokesman Bill Day.

Looking more broadly across all financial services firms – a group that includes fintechs, insurers and investment managers along with banks – shows that nine out of 10 offer some level of flexibility, with just 9 per cent requiring full-time office attendance, Scoop found. BLOOMBERG